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Anton Myrer

Once an Eagle: A Novel Paperback – March 12, 2013

by Anton Myrer (Author)

1,056 ratings

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“Once an Eagle is simply the best work of fiction on leadership in print.” —General Martin E. Dempsey, 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Required reading for West Point and Marine Corps cadets, Once An Eagle is the story of one special man, a soldier named Sam Damon, and his adversary over a lifetime, fellow officer Courtney Massengale. Damon is a professional who puts duty, honor, and the men he commands above self-interest. Massengale, however, brilliantly advances by making the right connections behind the lines and in Washington's corridors of power. Beginning in the French countryside during the Great War, the conflict between these adversaries solidifies in the isolated garrison life marking peacetime, intensifies in the deadly Pacific jungles of World War II, and reaches its treacherous conclusion in the last major battleground of the Cold War—Vietnam. Now reissued with a new foreword by acclaimed historian Carlo D'Este, here is an unforgettable story of a man who embodies the best in our nation—and in us all.

Print length

1312 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Publication date

March 12, 2013
Dimensions

5.31 x 2.1 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0062221620
ISBN-13

978-0062221629
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Beautifully written. ...A masterpiece. .... Myrer’s descriptions of firefights are by far the best I have read.” -- George S. Patton - MG, U.S. Army

“Remarkable . . . utterly engrossing. Myrer is a superb storyteller.” -- New York Times

“An ambitious, magnificently vivid novel...compelling. The battle scenes are among the finest I have ever read.” -- The Atlantic

“Myrer was an excellent storyteller...Once An Eagle is that very rare thing, a genuine ideological novel. When one of these becomes standard issue to the Corps of Cadets we would be remiss if we ignored it.” -- New York Review of Books

“A powerful, provocative and strongly-written novel...and an implied warning to the nation...One hopes that the Chiefs of Staff in Washington will read it with care.” -- Cincinnati Enquirer

“Accurate and appealing. The most brilliant and moving description of men in battle I have read... Truly a great book.” -- Hugh B. Hester - BG, U.S. Army

“At long last we have what critics have been saying was lost to modern novels--an honest-to-God hero...a natural.” -- Harpers

“I fully understand why Once An Eagle has become a classic novel of war and warriors. Sam Damon doesn’t preach, he lives his values and they are universal not only military.” -- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, US Army Retired - Commander in Chief Desert Storm

“I would pick up Once An Eagle rather than Norman Mailer any day for a clue as to what is going on in Vietnam.” -- Baltimore Sun

“In ironic contrast, the story moves from jungle warfare to drawing rooms on the Potomac, and back again...Goes to the heart of our century.” -- Chicago Sun-Times

From the Back Cover

Required reading for West Point and Marine Corps cadets, Once An Eagle is the story of one special man, a soldier named Sam Damon, and his adversary over a lifetime, fellow officer Courtney Massengale. Damon is a professional who puts duty, honor, and the men he commands above self-interest. Massengale, however, brilliantly advances by making the right connections behind the lines and in Washington's corridors of power. Beginning in the French countryside during the Great War, the conflict between these adversaries solidifies in the isolated garrison life marking peacetime, intensifies in the deadly Pacific jungles of World War II, and reaches its treacherous conclusion in the last major battleground of the Cold War—Vietnam. Now reissued with a new foreword by acclaimed historian Carlo D'Este, here is an unforgettable story of a man who embodies the best in our nation—and in us all.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Reprint edition (March 12, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 1312 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062221620
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062221629
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 2.1 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #109,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #117 in Ancient History Fiction (Books)
- #139 in World War I Historical Fiction (Books)
- #611 in Ancient World Historical Romance (Books)

Customer Reviews:
1,056 ratings

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Anton Myrer

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Gregory H Murry

Nobody gets the message!

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2018

Verified Purchase

Once An Eagle

In 1968, Anton Myrer, a Marine Corps veteran of WWII in the Pacific, wrote an epic war novel, "Once an Eagle," which became an instant best seller in the military. The two main characters represent two extremes of the types of people you meet in the military, with most of us somewhere in-between.

The hero, Sam Damon, is always being told to swallow his ethical code for the good of the service between bouts of physical and moral courage that we all wish we could emulate when the time comes. The villain, Courtney Massengale exemplifies the ticket punching careerist, climbing to the top of the army hierarchy over the dead bodies of his troops.

What no one seems to get is that ‘Sad Sam Damon’ failed his own code when he didn’t prefer charges against his corps commander, Massengale, who was responsible for the destruction of his division. Massengale broke his word when he took Damon’s reserve force and used it for a grandstand play while leaving Damon without the backup he was counting on. When Damon has a meeting with Massengale in the hospital after the battle, after some sparring, he asks him why, "Why did you do it?"

When Massengale claims it was all a misunderstanding, Damon fights back by saying that he has copies of the messages and witnesses. Massengale and he go back and forth, with Massengale threatening to ruin Damon’s career; then Massengale brings up the old bottom line, that Damon should drop it for the good of the service. Damon resists compliance until Massengale offers a unit citation for his division and reminds Damon that the war isn’t over.

Damon considers that his reconstituted division will have to fight again and if he is gone, who will lead them? Damon caves in and Myrer implies that in Damon’s doing so, we had Vietnam. I loved that book along with many other vets but it took three readings to see that Sam was just like the rest of us, willing to live with the lie and even tell it for the good of the service and his own career.179

I wrote this description of "Once an Eagle" in my book "Content with my Wages..."

The book’s author, Mr. Myrer said his combat service in World War II had the greatest impact on his life. ‘‘I enlisted imbued with a rather flamboyant concept of this country’s destiny as the leader of a free world and the necessity of the use of armed force,’’ he once wrote. ‘‘I emerged a corporal three years later in a state of
great turmoil, at the core of which was an angry awareness of war as the most vicious and fraudulent self-deception man had ever devised.’’ New York Times-MEL GUSSOW Published: January 23, 1996

36 people found this helpful

Helpful

Tony

Unforgettable, Riveting, Epic, and Gut-wrenchingly Authentic.

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2015

Verified Purchase

An indescribably powerful book, especially considering it is fiction, and one I could not--and cannot--stop thinking about. I'm a veteran myself of the USMC, Navy and Army, with two wartime deployments. I have been a student of military history and have read the memoirs of so many--Russian, Japanese, American, German, US Civil War, and Napoleonic invader/survivor of the Russian winter nightmare, so this sort of book is not new to me. Yet....yet....the scope of this book, its era-appropriate language, the observation of generations as they passed from pre-1900 war to the early 60s, the politics, the antics and behavior of everyone from the squad level up to the Army and Corps level, seemed remarkably vivid and accurate. The combat "scenes" were absolutely mind-boggling in authenticity, down to the smallest nitty-gritty details only someone who'd been there would know. War isn't sterilized in this book, and the relationships of command, the commanded and the commanders, are thoroughly gone through. My experiences in Iraq don't begin to approach what Myers described, but they ring true. The misery of forced marches, wet, the pain and how it feels to be falling-down exhausted and so many countless other things totally GET IT. Massengale is considered the evil of the book, yet he isn't really that. He's different, and based on my experience in both military and civilian management, pretty accurately reflects those who tend to climb the socio-economic-military ladder. I'm rambling here, but can only close with one last thing: my father fought in WWII and Korea, and possibly part of the early Indo-China campaign on "business trips" lasting 6 months or more. He never told us much. My mom described his nightmares from the first two years of their marriage (60-62), where he would jump out of the bed onto the floor while screaming.....telling her afterward that he was bailing from an airplane--or trying to--while on fire. The burn scars on his legs were all we had ever seen. This was fifteen years after WWII! Like many veterans of combat, he would only talk about silly and funny anecdotes, but not much else. It wasn't until 2006, when he died, the physician told me that in doing a whole-body CAT scan, they found many fragments, rods and plates scattered in his limbs and skull. Reading this book, a book against war, I could not help but think again....and again of my father. And so many like him. Bottom line? As Staff Sergeant Barnes from the other epic "Platoon" famously says, "Talking about killing? Y'all experts? Y'all know about killing?"

41 people found this helpful

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Charles F. Kartman

War is dirty and brutal, and someone has to do it

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

My third reading! Sad Sam Damon is one of the great characters in military fiction. As has been noted elsewhere, "Once an Eagle" is fundamentally an anti-war book, but Damon's need to do his part, to serve country, honor and friends is deeply ingrained in him, even as he comes to see clearly the waste and senseless brutality of war. The contrast between "combat commander" Damon and "staff officer" Massengale is a persistent theme of the book, one that can tend to drown out the equally important toll that is taken on the officers' wives, especially Tommy Damon. There are some wordy sections that are too soap-boxish, especially towards the end, but this is a book that should be read.

10 people found this helpful

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R. R. Costas Jr.

A Very Good Story of a Very Good Soldier

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

While this is a work of fiction, I can see why so many in the military consider this book such a classic on leadership and character. No sugar coating here of life in the military during the 20th century, from both the point of view of the soldiers as well as their families (especially the wives.)

Since I have never been in the military, I eventually thought the book got a little long. I was also confused why the last part of it doesn't use countries' real names. It is very obvious that the last part takes place in Viet Nam, yet the names of cities and the country itself are either altered or not use. However, for events taking place in World War I and II, the real names of countries, villages, cities, battles and commanders are used. I can't imagine that the author thought he'd be insulting Viet Nam when he wrote the book (he wrote it while that war was still being fought.) Minor quibble.

6 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

BigAl

Throughly enjoyable epic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 2, 2021

Verified Purchase

I read this on the recommendation of Jack Carr, I wasn’t aware of it prior to this, or the importance is has In American military circles. It is a brilliant story in its own right, but also gives a great insight into soldiers and war in general.

2 people found this helpful

Leigh

Utter Hokum, strngely enjoying

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 24, 2013

Verified Purchase

The US Army at war and peace, seen through the lens of two rival officers' careers. They are polarized caricatures and that sets the book's overall tone of simplistic, naive idealism. Despite that, and it is grating at times, it rocks along and is an enoyable, if lightweight read. It falls at the last fence, with a really weak treatment of the start of the Vietnam War. The essay question: to what extent is the ruthless, scheming careerist Courtney Massengale based on MacArthur?

2 people found this helpful

Rick from Sydney

Soars like an eagle

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 7, 2015

Verified Purchase

I first read this when it was published, and I'd not long completed my military service in Vietnam. I very rarely reread novels, but I am pleased I rediscovered this one. I highly recommend this book to anyone that really wants to understand how military organisations work, and particularly direct this book to anyone currently in the military who has a desire to improve the working of the organisation they are part of. Altogether compelling reading, highly thought provoking, and inspirational.

One person found this helpful

Mr. Patrick M. Vincent

One you may have missed. Highly recommended

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2013

Verified Purchase

A fabulous and thought provoking war story following the lives of a couple of, very different ,rival commanders as they climb the ranks of the US Army. This is a book about character, moral strength and leadership told through an insider view of America's major Twentieth Century conflicts. Lots of quotable gems that carry genuine weight. A standout book that you will remember long after others are forgotten.

One person found this helpful

D. P.McNicholl

A model for leadership and life

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2013

Verified Purchase

The formula of this book is one of honest endeavour and loyalty, backed by ability versus show and gloss and salesmanship based on arrogance, vanity and an over-rated sense of self-worth.

One sees this all the time in industry and particularly in consultancy where really good and able people are passed over by tricky dishonest types.

What makes this book really good is the way that they main character perseveres out of duty, honesty and loyalty.

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